Politics

Construction labor crunch drives up costs and deepens America’s housing affordability crisis

The worker shortage meant 19K homes weren’t built last year, which cost the economy $10.8 billion

By Amanda Macias Fox News
Published December 2, 2025 1:28pm EST

As home prices climb and inventory thins, a major culprit is hiding in plain sight: the U.S. simply doesn’t have enough skilled labor force to build the homes buyers want and need.

Experts say this labor shortage is now constraining the entire housing pipeline. Projects are taking longer to complete, construction costs continue to rise, and first-time home buyers are being squeezed out of an already competitive market.

Every month, the construction industry is short around 350,000 workers.

What's more, the National Association of Home Builders estimates the industry will need to hire nearly 723,000 workers per year just to keep pace with demand and close a nationwide housing gap of 1.5 million homes.

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